Hollywood comes to Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy in Philadelphia for film shoot

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — A little bit of Hollywood came to Franklin Street and the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia Oct. 14-16.

For two days, the chancery offices and the former cathedral parochial school had a new name with a new sign over the entrance, “St. Francis Roman Catholic High School.”

The site became a location shoot for a new Netflix movie called “Hustle,” starring Adam Sandler. It is a basketball movie where Sandler plays an NBA scout and he discovers a player in Spain and brings him to America.

The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is seen Oct. 20, 2020, in Philadelphia. Scenes for an upcoming Netflix film with Adam Sandler were being filmed in the nearby parking lot with the archeparchy’s chancery and former cathedral school as a backdrop. (CNS photo/courtesy Father John M. Fields, Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia)

All filming was done outside the night of Oct. 15 night and was completed by 1:15 a.m. Oct. 16.

Special interior lighting was used to light up the windows of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the exterior shoot. The set dressers added shrubbery and greens in front of several buildings and decorative light fixtures.

Fourteen tractor-trailer trucks, which transported equipment, served as make-up, hair, wardrobe, cafeteria and dressing rooms, lined Franklin, Eighth and Brown streets.

Sandler recently said on a television show the movie will feature Toronto Raptors’ point guard and Philadelphia native Kyle Lowry, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and “loads of NBA guys.”

According to a report in The Philadelphia Inquirer in July, “Hustle” will follow an American basketball scout who was fired after discovering a “once-in-a-lifetime” player outside of the country, prompting him to bring the player to the United States and groom him for the NBA in an effort to prove naysayers wrong about both the scout and the player.

The film is being produced by Sandler and James. It is scheduled to shoot from October to December.

Author: Catholic News Service

Catholic News Service is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ news and information service.

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